Revealed - the story of the mysterious artwork
THE attention of motorists stopped at Castle Street and passers by was caught by the appearance last week of mysterious pieces of artwork on the doors of the old St Joseph’s Laundry.
A large calico banner bearing the words ‘Fallen Women’ with images of women and children, their faces incomplete, their lack of mouths symbolising the absence of a voice, faint quotes from the testimony of inmates from Magdalene Laundries. The eyes of women peering out from another piece and mesh enclosed images of women and children with snippets of their history, had many people wondering what it was all about.
The Argus has tracked down the artist responsible for the pieces, a second year student at the National College of Art and Design, Dublin, who wishes to remain anonymous
A student of Textile Art & Artefact and Education, she explains: ‘My overall project is based on the idea of secrets, focusing on family secrets in particular. While looking through old family pictures I began to put stories together in my head of different scenarios that may or may not have existed, being particularly interested in the women and children of the photographs.’
The Repeal the 8th campaign led to her studying various historical events around the issue, including the Magdalene Laundries.
‘Coming from a Catholic School, I’ve never had anything but respect for the nuns that taught me, however the history of many of their practices is rather terrifying,’ she says.
Her research evolved into the project ‘Fallen’ which includes the pieces at Castle Street.
‘It is about the inhumane treatment the women and chil- dren of the laundries experienced. The term Fallen Women was used to describe a woman who had ‘ lost her innocence’. These women were often sent to laundries where they could pay for their ‘sins’. It is estimated that 30,000 women were sent to these laundries in Ireland.’
While St Joseph’s Laundry wasn’t a Magdalene Laundry, the young girls sent to the orphanage had similar experiences to those in the Magdalene laundries.
‘Hanging these pieces outside was an extremely important part of the project for me,’ she says. ‘It gives the women a voice. Whether it’s people admiring my work, slating my work, or generally just discussing the laundries. Recognition is what these women deserve, and that’s what my pieces are trying to encourage. I don’t want these pieces to be seen as precious items- what makes them any more precious than the work these women did in the laundries? The idea of me working so hard on something that is merely hung up outside with no protection, not knowing what could happen them, reflects the hard work of the women in the laundries- working for something that they got absolutely no recognition for.’
Was she not worried about what would happen to the pieces once she had displayed them on the street? ‘Having no idea of what would happen to them was the exciting part,’ she says. ‘Friends, family, college tutors all asked if I’d be upset if anything happened to them; if they were taken or destroyed? To be perfectly honestly, I think the removal of them would just emphasise the point I’m trying to make; tearing down artwork is removing my voice and my opinion, just like what happened to the ‘Fallen Women’.